Professional Self Concept and its Relationship with Critical Thinking and Tension of Clinical Environment in Nursing Students of Tabriz University Medical Sciences, 2017.

Abstract

Abstract: Objectives: Professional self-concept is the individual’s perception of himself/herself as a professional person. It is necessary to use the specialized scale of professional self-concept (not the general self-concept scale) to measure this concept. The proper levels of critical thinking and professional self-concept both have key roles in the academic achievements of nursing students. Due to the nature of clinical environments, stress is a common phenomenon in nursing education. The relationship between these two variables is unclear in the review of literature. The aim of study was to assess the correlation between professional self-concept and critical thinking and stress among nursing students in clinical environments. Materials and Method: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 154 eligible nursing students, selected through the stratified random sampling technique. For this purpose, Cowin's Professional Self-Concept Scale and Ricketts' Critical Thinking Disposition Assessment Scale and the Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) were utilized. Then the Pearson correlation coefficient was employed to analyze data in SPSS 16. Results: The overall mean score of professional self-concept in nursing students was 210.80 ± 37.41. The mean score of critical thinking was 74.95 ± 13.94 and the mean of stress in students was 47.85 ±13.18. The level of critical thinking varies in different semesters. Regarding nursing students, the correlation coefficient between professional self-concept and critical thinking was -0.46 (p<0.001). Therefore, there was a significant, inverse, and moderate correlation between these two variables. Also, the correlation coefficient of the total score of professional self-concept with the total score of stress was equal to -0.31, which is considered significant (p-value<0.001). Conclusions: The inverse relationship was observed between the professional self-concept and critical thinking among the nursing students. On the other hand considering the inverse relationship between self-concept and critical thinking, the findings can be affected by different variables, some of which are known, whereas some others are unknown. A correlation was observed between the professional self-concept and stress among the nursing students; so that higher professional self-concept was associated with a reduction in the level of stress. Therefore, it is essential to design and implement interventions to promote professional self-concept among nursing students.